The Duel

Now, Wellington and Winchilsea wait to fight a duel
A difference of opinion over papal rule
Seconds polished firearms in the morning cool
And muzzled down the pistol balls with the wire wool
Late for his appointment, Winchilsea had to run
He tripped over a branch and discharged his gun
The year was 1829 on March 21
A curt bow with apology, probably would have done
The Earl, he fired into the air, the Duke fired to the ground
And honour was seen to be served by all those around
Pistols at dawn on Battersea Down
Just a silly argument over pope and crown
But the Duke he looked too long at the sky as the ball descended
And the Earl was hit by the ricochet and his life was ended
A peppered coat, a bent, cocade, but not a fatal shot
He slapped a man across the face and this is what he got
The Duke’s a national hero, the Earl didn’t want his blood
Seconds applied tourniquets to stem the deadly flood
The Earl said with his dying breath as he lay down in the mud
I think I just shot the prime minister my Lord
The moral if there is one as you step the paces ten
They used to do things so differently back then
Now you can’t shoot the prime minister, even by mistake
But still there’s a challenge that I would like to make